undefinedAlexander Volkanovski has had his first sparring session ahead of UFC 298 and, at least according to him, all went well.
Featherweight champion Volkanovski (26-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) defends his title against unbeaten Ilia Topuria (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) on Feb. 17 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Volkanovski is coming off a knockout loss to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev this past October at UFC 294, causing many to be concerned over his relatively quick turnaround. But Volkanovski assures that he’s undergoing all the necessary health protocols and provided a positive update ahead of his first spar.
“Just had my first spar,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. “So, obviously had to follow all the protocols, concussion, back to training. So, followed all the protocols to a tee, no symptoms, kept it rolling, kept it rolling. Felt real good. No knocks, no symptoms still. So, we’re rolling. We’re going to keep this baby rolling. Very, very happy with it.
“Very thankful for the team behind me, obviously Joe (Lopez) and all my training partners … my doctors, as well, they’ve literally dealt with thousands of concussions, so they made sure I followed (protocols) to a tee. Mate, I feel great, was able to train the whole way through, so I haven’t lost too much fitness, which is good. We’ve still got plenty of time before we even get into camp. Now I get to ease back into a full training schedule.”
Volkanovski will look to notch his sixth title defense after wins over Max Holloway twice, Brian Ortega, Chan Sung Jung, and Yair Rodriguez during his featherweight championship reign.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.